Between The Wasteland And The Sky
by RavenFeathers823
Summary: This is a one off story about what happened after the battle at Hogwarts where Harry and Hermione contemplate their futures and and their choices. In all its the tale of two people in love who may be to afraid or to late to find happiness. Rated M just to be safe.


**Forward**** - **Good evening ladies and gentlemen and thank you for reading. This is my first Harry Potter story and it is a one shot though please comment if you like it as I do have an idea for a longer story and this may be used as it's beginning. As a brief note this is based after the final battle with Voldemort and completely disregards what the book and movie claims happen. It is only my opinion but I believe these two should have been together, of course since its my story my opinion is the one that matters.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy.

Yours, RavenFeathers823

_**Between The Wasteland And The**_** Sky**

Harry Potter stood alone on what remained of the astronomy tower looking out over the destruction on his beloved Hogwarts. The battle had ended just over an hour ago and everyone still seemed to be having trouble believing that it was really over, that Voldemort was really gone. Harry wasn't among that group, he knew Voldemort was gone just by the cold pit in his stomach. He was relieved that the battle was over of course but now that his enemy was gone, the world saved, and his destiny seemingly fulfilled it left him facing the future without the smallest idea of where to go from there.

Though he'd never actually said it aloud Harry had always believed he would fail and that his life would end when he finally faced off with Voldemort, but that someone would be able to overcome him after the battle. He'd never actually considered living past the battle and so never thought what would happen afterward. With a heavy sigh he leaned against the stone railing looking down to the school grounds, from so high up he couldn't make out any details but he saw people below walking around like zombies as they tried to piece themselves together. He wondered briefly if Ron and Hermione were down there somewhere. Closing his eyes his hands gripped the railing tighter as the cold pit in his stomach suddenly flashed white hot with rage and jealous, the sudden feelings made his head spin and he stumbled back sitting down against the stone rail.

They were his friends. Ron was his friend, his best friend, more than that he was like a brother. He told himself, screaming it inside his own head but the feelings refused to fade no matter how much he wished them away. They had been there for months, ever since Ron walked away from them in the woods leaving him and Hermione alone with the fate of the world resting on their backs. That was the moment he had truly begun to hate Ron, not only for walking away from their mission but for hurting Hermione so badly. The memories of hearing her crying night after night were doing nothing to help the flames rolling through him.

When Ron came back he tried to forgive him, told himself his friend had made a mistake, it was all because of the curse on the pendent he'd been wearing or the injury he'd suffered. But all the excuses in the world couldn't erase the rage that now flared within his mind every time he saw the red head. Of course once he'd begun hating him things from their past began creeping into his mind. The look of distrust he gave him when they learned he was a parseltongue, abandoning him when his name came out of the goblet of fire, constantly putting him in the middle of the fights he picked with Hermione and making him feel guilty for not turning his back on her. But all of this he pushed aside because they had much more important things to do and if nothing else he was an extra wand when things turned ugly.

By the time the three of them had arrived at Hogwarts searching for the last horcrux he'd nearly forgotten about his hatred for him. But all those feelings came rushing back to him the moment he and Hermione had come running up the stairs grasping each other's hands as though releasing them was certain death. His entire body had gone numb seeing this, and all at once he felt the urge to cry and kill flood him at once. He barely heard what they said but nodded telling them it was great before hurrying off needing to be away from them before he did something unthinkable. He couldn't seem to wrap his mind around it, Hermione had been so devastated by him leaving but she'd forgiven him? Accepted him? Why?

Pulling off his glasses he buried his face in his hands and tried not to scream even as he felt hot tears falling down against his palms. Everything around him faded as he began to sob uncontrollably into his hands, his entire body trembling as he screamed out her name hoping it and his pain would be carried off in the wind.

* * *

Hermione walked slowly out of the dining hall, no longer able to be around the bodies that had been gathered up there and the mourning friend and families. Walking through the main hall she leaned against the main door of the Hogwarts castle staring out across the grounds, her unfocused and misted over with thoughts of everything that had happened. It seemed so unreal to her, they'd arrived at Hogwarts just a few hours ago and as always it had seemed so safe, so untouchable. Even if there were death eaters there they'd been quickly dealt with and removed. But now… the castle was nearly leveled and so many people had been killed.

Students, teachers, aurors even the death eaters, hundreds of bodies had been gathered from the wreckage in various states of mutilation from either the spells they were hit with or the castle crumbling around them. The images would haunt her mind until her dying day she was sure but right now one image, one moment, consumed her mind more than anything else. The look Ron had given her when he kissed her in the chamber of secrets, she hadn't expected it or even really wanted it but the way he looked at her frightened her. Not that she thought he would do anything to hurt her if she pushed him away more like if she'd rejected him just then he'd have died on the spot. Though after seeing the look of pain and fury in Harry's eyes when he'd seen them she was beginning to think it would have been better to just tell Ron to piss off.

Closing her eyes Hermione leaned her head forward resting it against the cold marble doorway, the chill of the marble making her head feel just slightly better. It amazed her how everything could come crumbling down so quickly. Her sanctuary was gone, many of her friends were dead, someone she hated thought she loved them and the person she loved probably hated her. The wizarding world had been saved just in time for her personal world to fall apart. From behind her she could hear Ron calling out her name, probably only just realizing she was gone from his side. Deciding she couldn't face him right now she pushed herself off the doorway and walked out into the grounds.

Hermione felt a prickling at the corners of her eyes as she walked through the grounds brief flashes of joyous memories mocked her as any joy was gone from these ground, it now felt to her like walking through a grave yard. Large chunks of earth were ripped up, trees lay shattered or toppled and from the corner of her eye she could see the massive corpse of the giant squid floating in the lake. By the time she'd come to where she, Harry and Ron had spent so many afternoons silent tears were streaking down her cheeks. The tree that the trio had gathered under so often was gone leaving behind nothing but a blackened stump.

Hermione closed her eyes feeling the tears flowing more freely now as she slowly sat down on the grass looking at the destroyed tree and trying to piece together any kind of plan for what to do next. She paid no attention to the others walking the ground much like she had been, for the first time in her life her mind simply seemed to shut off blocking out the world and her own thoughts. She didn't want to think about her beloved Hogwarts laying in ruins, didn't want to think about Ron calling out for the girl he believed loved him or Harry lamenting the idea that she could love him.

It was then she thought she heard Harry, his voice in the wind. She looked around unsure that what she'd heard was real, Harry was nowhere to be seen and hadn't been since breaking apart the elder wand and walking into the castle. But a part of her was screaming that it was real he'd been calling out for her. This thought seemed to spark something inside of Hermione, her breathing picked up to the point that it felt like she may hyperventilate. She needed to find Harry that was all that was in her mind at the moment as he stood up and began heading for the castle, she had no idea where he was but something was leading her.

* * *

Harry had yet to move from where he had been as he cried, though his tears had stopped his entire body was still trembling with sorrow and utter hopelessness. As he'd been crying he'd finally admitted to himself what he'd been denying for months, probably years, he was in love with Hermione. But it didn't matter now, she'd made her choice and it wasn't him. He gazed up at the sky annoyed with the endless blue, furious with the bright sun. He wondered how so many could look up at the bright blue sky and feel hope for the future when what he saw for his future looked more like the castle, something that had been grand and beautiful but now laid in ruins.

Maybe he should just pitch himself off the tower, he thought bitterly as he forced his tired body to stand up and look down to the ground. "I should have died so many times already, but I kept going because I had something to live for." He spoke the words softly, his voice hoarse from crying. It all seemed to make sense to him in this moment. He hated his best friend. The women he was in love with loves someone else. He already completed his destiny. Why not just take that last step and bring his story to a close?

It was the sound of footsteps that pulled him from his thoughts and made him look toward the entrance to the tower as Hermione came out. A moment of dread rolled through him thinking she and Ron were coming up here to be alone but thankfully she seemed to be on her own. Their eyes met for a moment and just from the look of them they each knew the other had been crying and crying heavily. Each wanted to speak, to spill their thoughts to the other and hope that they felt the same but neither spoke just yet. Harry stepped back from the railing as he watched Hermione, she looked terrified and was chewing slightly on her bottom lip and he couldn't help the small smile that curved his lips.

"Hermione," He said her name softly trying to keep his voice calm but it still cracked slightly from both the emotions he was trying to hold back and how raw his throat still was.

Hearing her name spoken even in his gruff broken voice sent a chill through her body and made her heart jump as she bit her lip a bit harder trying to will herself to speak. "Harry, I… I was looking for you." She finally managed to say, internally berating herself. She was for to intelligent to open with something as useless as that. Steadying herself she stepped forward a bit more but even the step she took felt challenging as though some force was struggling to keep the two apart. "I… I wanted to talk to you Harry. It's…" Her voice failed her as she looked into Harry's eyes, the look in them was hard for her to describe. It was something like how Ron had looked at her in the chamber, needy and desperate for her to say or do something but unlike with Ron the gaze didn't frighten her.

Harry's entire body had gone tense when she moved forward his mind seemed to be splintering. Part of it screaming at him to man up and tell her how he felt, another side demanding he run over and kiss her, several parts were telling him that it wasn't real that this whole scene was some mocking hallucination. Shoving those thoughts away he forced himself to move toward her managing a few small steps before he froze again waiting for her to continue as he gazed into her chocolate colored eyes searching for some sign that she would say the words he desperately longed to hear. "Hermione, what… what did you want to say?" His voice was trembling now, he was sure if she didn't confirm his feelings he wouldn't need to jump off the tower his heart would simply stop beating.

Once again the pair fell into a deep silence as they watched each other, both tense and terrified, both waiting for the other to speak or to be able to muster the courage to speak themselves. Another moment passed in silence with both standing as still humanly possible until a cold wind blew past them making Hermione shiver slightly, unlike Harry who was slightly numb from being there so long. But as she shivered it was almost instinctual as he finally closed the distance wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight against him.

It took a few seconds for them to realize what he'd done and as it dawned on Harry he froze petrified she would push him away. It felt like an eternity to Harry though it was less than a second later that Hermione's arms snaked their way around him and her head pressed softly against his chest. It was a position they had found themselves in countless times through the years but they both felt it was different now. They weren't hugging or hold each other because they were cold, they were clutching onto each other as though their lives depended on it. Their bodies trembled and they cried openly, Harry's tears dripping off his cheeks and into Hermione's hair as her tears soaked through his shirt.

"Hermione." Harry whispered softly squeezing her tighter against him as he finally managed to speak. "I love you Hermione."

Hearing this Hermione felt as though every nerve in her body had suddenly burst to life as she looked up and launched herself upward. Her arms wrapped around Harry's neck as his clamped together around her waist, their lips crashing together in a deep and passionate kiss and refused to release the other until the need for air had become urgent. Finally their lips broke apart but they refused to be parted as Hermione buried her face between his neck and shoulder and he pressed his lips to her head kissing through her hair as they gasped for breath.

"I love you Harry, I truly love you." She was whispering into his ear as they held each other the joy and relief they both felt erased everything else from their minds for the moment. They both had their messes to take care of. Hermione needed to clearly end things with Ron, Harry needed to decide where his life was going to lead from this moment on. But for now both were able to forget their problems as they finally had the one they loved.


End file.
